MHA Asks Officials Not To Use Militant Burhan Wani's Name In Communications

Apparently this is to stop his glorification.

To curb the 'glorification' of Burhan Wani in the Kashmir Valley and allegedly by Pakistan in international forums the Union Home Ministry has given a direction to its officials and security agencies to not use his name in written communications.

The Indian Express quoted a home ministry official as saying, "For all future references, the incidents will be recorded as an encounter of three militants on July 8 and not Burhan Wani. It is much safer as the government is not committing to anything even if at a later stage the information supplied regarding the name and the organisation to which the militant belongs turns out to be inaccurate."

The then Hizbul Mujahideen commander, Wani was killed by the security forces in Kashmir on July 8, 2016. In the aftermath of his killing Kashmir saw months of protests. Several people had died, were injured and permanently maimed because of pellet guns used to disperse protesters.

And this year, as the first death anniversary of Wani is approaching, the government allegedly expects trouble.

The Indian Express reported that officials felt that Wani's name was being used by terrorists in Pakistan on social media groups and that 88 youths had taken to militancy after his death.

The report also said that officials cannot use his name for replies to questions in the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, for RTI queries and any form of communications within its departments or with the public.